


The Convex Lens

by Huffleporg



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: F/M, Gen, childhood cuteness, just some cuteness to celebrate Friday the 13th, set before all the wrong questions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-10 04:26:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15283611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huffleporg/pseuds/Huffleporg
Summary: A chance encounter with a volunteer on a bench.





	The Convex Lens

**Author's Note:**

> Russian translation by the lovely black_coffe [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/7747511).

“Want to see something cool?”

Kit looked up from her copy of _War and Peace_ to the boy who had sat on the other end of the bench. Though she did think that they had ever been introduced, she recognized him immediately as one of her younger brother’s classmates. There was no mistaking the odd hairstyle. She had seen him around Lemony, and Kit considered herself a good enough older sister to at least know by sight the friends and volunteers that he associated with. “What sort of thing?” she asked cautiously. In her experience, volunteers didn’t usually sit on the same bench to show something that would be pleasant. 

“Give me your glasses,” he said with a grin.

The corner of Kit’s mouth quirked upwards. “You do realize if I give you my glasses, I can’t exactly see what you want to show me.”

The younger boy shrugged his shoulders. “I just need to borrow them for a little bit.”

“Why?”

“Why do you want to spoil the surprise?”

Placing her bookmark on the page that she had been interrupted on, Kit said, “I don’t really like surprises.” She glanced up to see the boy’s intense gaze. He stared at her for long enough that Kit became suddenly aware of the weight of the book in her lap. She swallowed.

“I don’t believe you,” he said. “Who doesn’t like a surprise?”

“Lots of people,” Kit laughed. In the certain situation, she didn’t mind a surprise or two, but from a practical stranger in a public park, she wasn’t quite interested.

“Okay, but if you lend me your glasses, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this.” 

Something nagged at the back of her mind. A comment that she had heard Lemony about one of his classmates and how one of them had taken an interest in lighting anthills on fire. “You better not be hoping to use my glasses to set a fire,” Kit said cautiously.

The boy blinked and looked away. “You can’t expect to be able to put out fires if you don’t know how they start,” he said defensively, his shoulders tensing. Though he had to be at least three years younger than her, Kit could see that he was at least two inches taller than her already.

“I’ve got the wrong kind of lenses.”

Confused, the boy turned to face her. “What?”

“I’m near sighted,” explained Kit. She tapped the frame of her glasses. “So I’ve got concave glasses. Convex lenses are the ones that act like a magnifying glass… so you can light a fire with them.” She paused wondering if maybe she had the wrong classmate of Lemony’s.

“Okay then,” he said.

The silence weighed down on Kit. She shifted uncomfortably and put the book beside her. “So what was the surprise?”

His eyebrow rose. “Oh, so now you’re interested in surprises?” A broad smirk bloomed across his face, his eyes shining brightly. “What happened to not liking surprises?”

“You piqued my curiosity…” She trailed off, realizing that she didn’t actually know the boy’s name. Omar or Oliver… something with an O, she was fairly sure. Lemony had definitely mentioned him at least once in the past. 

“Olaf,” he said. 

“Olaf,” Kit repeated, smiling slightly.

The boy returned her smile with his own. “So I’ve got you curious, Snicket,” he said. 

“So what was the surprise?” she persisted.

Letting out a laugh, Olaf shook his head. “You know what they say about curiosity.”

“Satisfaction brought the cat back.” Kit had always found the half quoting of the trite expression to be annoying. “So come on. What was it?”

Olaf got to his feet. “Actually, I kind of like seeing you like this.” He started walking away.

“You can’t do that,” Kit called after him.

“Maybe I’ll show you later, Snicket,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

“That’s hardly fair,” Kit said, though she knew that Olaf was out of earshot now. She bit her lower lip. “Damn it,” she mumbled, realizing that she was going to have a mystery that she would have no choice but to pursue. “Damn it, Olaf.”

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write a little something to celebrate Friday the 13th. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think! :)


End file.
